While many investors are fearing that the U.S. will slide into a lengthy deflationary spiral similar to that which Japan has endured, top value manager Whitney Tilson says that is unlikely.

Tilson offers Business Insider three reasons that the odds of the U.S. entering such a period are less than 5%:

• Compared to the size of the country, Japan’s bubble was much bigger than the U.S.’s;
• The U.S. is more “vibrant” economically than Japan;
• The U.S. is writing down loans more quickly than Japan did.

Tilson doesn’t think all’s well, however — he sees years of weak economic growth for the U.S.